Thomas Drummond

Thomas Drummond

Thomas Drummond, botanist, (b in Scot c 1780; d at Havana, Cuba early Mar 1835). Assistant naturalist to John Richardson on the second expedition led by Sir John FRANKLIN, Drummond did not accompany Richardson to the Arctic but instead botanized at Cumberland House on the Saskatchewan River, 1825, in the Rocky Mountains near Jasper in 1826, and at Carlton House in 1827. In the mountains alone, Drummond collected 1500 specimens of plants, 150 birds and 500 mammals, some new to science. He had a narrow escape from the jaws of a grizzly bear, and once went 7 days without food. In 1828 he became curator of the botanical garden in Belfast and from 1830 to 1834 made important collections in the southern US, especially Texas. A number of plants, including those of the genus Drummondia, and the yellow mountain avens, Dryas drummondii, bear his name.